The Darkness Within
by awesomegurl68
Summary: Clary feels threatened by her estranged father, Valentine, so she decides to take self defense classes. Things heat up between her and her instructor, Jace. When Valentine's threats continue, Jace and Clary take things a step too far and find themselves on the run from the authorities. Clace!
1. Chapter 1

It was Friday evening and Clary was on her way back to her car after getting out of her last art class for the week. She pulled her cell phone out of the back pocket of her paint splattered skinny jeans and began scrolling through Facebook while she strolled through the college campus parking lot. Normally, she would be paying more attention to her surroundings, but the college campus was still quite active that night and college students were all around her. She noticed the time on her phone and quickened her pace. She had nearly forgotten that her mom wanted her to come back home for the weekend to help pick out a special outfit for her 20 year high school class reunion. Clary wasn't sure why her mom wanted her help. After all, she was not much of a fashion expert. She assumed that she just wanted to have some mother daughter alone time, plus, she knew her mom was nervous about showing off her new husband, Luke, to her former peers. Jocelyn didn't speak much about her nasty divorce from Valentine Morgenstern and the reunion would be the first time that many of her former friends would learn about her past relationship coming to an abrupt end.

Clary reached her navy blue Ford Focus and unlocked the driver side door. She flung her pink backpack onto the passenger seat and jammed the key into the ignition. As she was about to leave, she noticed a white envelope sticking out from underneath the passenger side windshield wiper and she muttered outloud "Oh crap, not again!" as she stepped out of the vehicle to retrieve it. She assumed she had stupidly received another parking ticket. She looked around the car for a sign of a parking enforcement officer on duty but the lot suddenly felt eerily dark. She shook off the feeling and got back into the car, knowing she was actually parked legally this time and could fight off this parking ticket. She was about to shove the envelope into her backpack for future inspection when she noticed her name written in cursive on the front of the envelope.

"That's weird..." She said out loud to herself and proceeded to open it. Her heart felt like it came to a complete stop when she read the greeting.

_My dearest Clarissa..._

Clary gasped and knew that only one person ever called her that. It was from her father, Valentine. Clary suddenly felt sick. The last time she had seen her father, he was being escorted away from her house by the police. She remembered that day very clearly even though she was just 6 years old. She tried to push the memory out of her head and decided that it would be a good idea to lock her car doors. She looked around once again and didn't see anybody around. The parking lot was starting to empty out now so she had a clear line of sight all around her. She took a deep breath before continuing to read the letter.

_My dearest Clarissa,_

_ We have been kept apart for much too long, and for that, I am truly sorry. You will forever be my little princess and you are meant to be with your father. I won't stop until we are reunited once again and you will realize that we are more alike than you think. I'll see you soon, my child. _

Clary scoffed at the letter. "Yeah, right." She said and crumpled it up into a ball, tossing it onto the passenger seat floor with her empty Starbucks cup from that morning. She put the car into drive and began to make the journey to her mom's house. She contemplated bringing up the note when she got there but decided it wasn't worth the stress. Valentine was known for making threats that he never followed up on.

She got off of the highway and reached a red traffic light at the end of the ramp. She noticed a new martial arts training center across the street with an advertisement in the window for 'Free Women's Self-Defense Classes.' She raised a curious eyebrow and looked down at the crumpled up ball of paper on the floor of the passenger seat. The light turned green and she was about to make a left, but at the last second decided to go straight. She figured a little self defense knowledge wouldn't hurt, especially since she was frequently walking around alone during the evening hours near her college campus. She pulled into the parking lot and found a spot right near the front door. The studio was brightly lit and there seemed to be a class in session of middle school aged kids. She noticed a tall, dark haired man, leading the class and a shorter dark haired woman helping a student who seemed to be a little bit behind the others. Near the front entrance was a tall, black and red painted counter with letters that read 'Lightwood Martial Arts' and behind it, stood a golden haired man who was on the phone. She looked down at her clothes and groaned when she realized she was still covered in paint. The guy inside was _hot. _Like, totally out of her league hot. She quickly patted down her wild, red hair and rummaged through her purse for some lip gloss. She figured it would be good enough for now. It's not like she was looking for a date, but something about this guy just made her feel excited. She got out of the car and stepped through the front door. When the door chimed, the man looked up and smiled. He held up a finger to indicate he would be right with her while he ended the phone call.

"What can I do for you?" The man asked as he looked her over. Clary felt nervous all of a sudden when they made eye contact. She knew that she was pretty attractive herself as evidenced by countless boys asking her out on dates at school, but she was never the type to need, or even want, a boyfriend just for the sake of having one. This left her feeling pretty inexperienced with guys and when one finally did catch her eye, she never knew what to say. Clary cleared her throat.

"Yeah, hi! Uh...I just noticed this women's self defense class sign and thought I would come in to see what it's all about." She said. The man chuckled lightly as he opened the desk drawer to pull out a sign up form. He handed it to her with a pen.

"Is someone giving you trouble?" He asked lightheartedly. She took the form and the pen and noticed the unusual tattoos on his arms. When she looked up at his face, she noticed he had some tattoos peeking out of his shirt around his neck too. She wondered where else he had them. She laughed nervously.

"No, no...I just...thought it might be a good idea. Girl power and all that." She laughed. "Thanks." She said as she started to fill out the form. She thought she should fill the silence by making some small talk. "Those are some interesting tattoos you have there." She said and instantly regretted it. She didn't know how to flirt, she wasn't even sure if this _was _flirting.

The man looked at his own arms and smiled. "Thanks, but they aren't tattoos...they're..." He quickly tried to change the subject. Something about this girl was making him say things he wasn't supposed to say. How could he be so stupid? And how was she able to see his marks in the first place?

"What? Do they give you super powers or something?" Clary joked. The man scratched the back of his neck.

"Something like that." He laughed. Clary finished filling out the form and handed it back to him. The man looked at her name on the paper. "Well, Clary, I'll be seeing you bright and early for your first lesson tomorrow. I'm Jace, by the way." He said, holding out his hand to her. She placed her hand in his and shook it, hoping that he wouldn't notice her sweaty palms. To her embarrassment, he did notice. "Nervous, are you? Well I can't say I blame you." He said with a cocky tone, flexing his biceps. Clary could feel her cheeks turning bright red.

"Oh, look at the time! I have to bounce. See you tomorrow I guess." Clary walked backwards toward the door and nearly stumbled out of it. Jace winked at her on her way out but then gave her a friendly wave. When she was out of view, Jace traced her handwriting with his fingertip. "Clary." He said out loud. He had never been so strangely intrigued about a woman before. He noticed her phone number on the paper and shook his head before slipping the form in the desk drawer. He looked outside to see her fumbling with her car door and smiled. He then pulled the form back out and programmed her phone number into his own cell phone.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I hope you are liking the story so far! I am not quite sure exactly which direction I will take this story. Initially, I wanted it to be an AU but I'm having some other ideas. Let's see where the keyboard takes me, shall we? :)

The next morning, Clary woke up in her childhood bedroom nearly two hours before her alarm. She could already smell the familiar scent of bacon cooking in the kitchen, a welcomed smell that she never got to experience when waking up in her college dorm. It was great to be home. She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the sunlight shining through her window. She let out a sleepy yawn, stood up, and stretched her arms over her head. She had an exciting day ahead of her. Today, she would take her first self defense class with the hot guy she met the night before, who she now knew as Jace. She didn't want to admit it, but the self defense portion was not exactly what she was looking forward to the most. She shuffled to the kitchen in her favorite pink and purple pajamas and sat down at the kitchen table.

"You're up early!" Jocelyn exclaimed while pushing the bacon around in the frying pan.

"Good morning!" Clary smiled. She noticed that a pot of coffee was already sitting on the counter, so she got up to pour herself some before sitting back down at the table. She took a sip and closed her eyes as the warm fluid slid down her throat. "You're up early yourself." Clary said to her mom.

"I just couldn't wait to get our day started! I figured we would have breakfast here and then we can have lunch after we get a little shopping in. What do you say?" Jocelyn asked. A pang of guilt hit Clary. She completely forgot about their plans to shop for the reunion.

"Uhhhh...actually Mom..." Clary started. Jocelyn put down the spatula and put her hands on her hips.

"Uh oh. Are you bailing on me? Did you make plans with Simon again? I thought we were going to have a girls weekend, Clary." Jocelyn said. Her tone was light but Clary knew she was actually a little hurt, so she did her best to protect her feelings.

"No...no, Mom. Not this time. It's just...I signed up for a Saturday class at the last minute and I..." Clary started to say but she was interrupted.

"Class? On a Saturday? Wow, colleges these days really can't give you kids a break. Well, don't let me stand in the way of your education. Just give me a heads up next time, will ya? Will you at least be home for dinner and to take a look at the clothes I buy today?" Jocelyn picked up the spatula and shook it at Clary in an authoritative manner. Clary nodded. Clary felt like she dodged a bullet. She didn't want to lie to her mom, but didn't want her to feel badly either. Besides, she really was taking a class, even if it wasn't necessarily a college one.

After breakfast, Clary hopped into the shower and washed her hair with her favorite lavender scented shampoo. She made a mental note to remember to buy some to take back to school with her. When she was done, she wrapped herself up in a towel and went to dig through her dresser to find something to wear for her class. She wasn't even sure what was appropriate to wear for a self defense class. She pulled out her gym clothes from high school, but cringed when she saw the over-sized gray sweatpants and paint splattered t shirt. She shoved them back into the drawer and pulled out a white, slim fit tank top and black leggings that showed off her petite figure. She walked over to the mirror and put her hair up into a pony tail. She then used a healthy amount of concealer and foundation to cover up a large scar on her neck that she tried to forget about daily. A scar from Valentine. A reminder of why she was really going to take this class in the first place. She looked at her reflection with a nod of approval, grabbed her backpack and headed out the door.

A bell jingled when she opened the door to the martial arts studio but there weren't any people in sight. For a free class, she expected there to be a decent turn out. She looked at her cellphone to confirm that it was, indeed, Saturday and she leaned over the front counter to see if anyone was behind it. The lights were on and clearly, the door was unlocked so someone was bound to be here. She thought maybe they had a back room that wasn't immediately visible.

"Hello?" She called out to the empty studio. That's when a familiar figure appeared through a door at the back that was painted to match the white wall. He was wearing black sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt that revealed his mysteriously tattooed body and biceps. Clary felt a lump in her throat and swallowed hard. It was Jace.

"Clary! I wasn't sure if you were still coming. You wouldn't believe how many people sign up for these things and never show up. It's good to see you again." He smiled. He extended his arm to lead her in the direction of where they would be practicing, which, sure enough, was the giant empty studio.

"Wait...so it's just me? Just us? What happened to those other instructors that were here last night?" She asked nervously. In a way, she was grateful that no one else would be here to see her lack of gracefulness, but at the same time, Jace would notice every bit of it.

"Yep. It's just us today. Lucky you!" He teased." Alec and Izzy, my brother and sister, are attending to our...other...family business this weekend. We run this studio together when we aren't busy with our other obligations, as a service to the community. Teaching kids, and women, to stand up for themselves. Pretty cool, huh?" He said. Clary nodded.

"Interesting." She said, wondering what their other business entailed but decided not to pry right away. "So, I guess we should get started. How does this work anyway? Are you going to show me how to thwart off an attack using my pepper spray? I actually have it in my bag...my dad insists that I carry it around.." Clary said nervously and Jace laughed.

"This isn't exactly that type of class, Clary. We teach martial arts here...for beginners, of course." Jace explained. He explained in detail what kind of moves he would be teaching her, the best way to fight off an attacker, how to anticipate moves from your opponent, and so on. Clary tried her best to pay attention, nodding as he spoke, her eyes drifting from his face to his muscles, to his chiseled jaw line and back up to his eyes. She wondered how she would possibly stand a chance fighting against Jace, but was intrigued by the idea of his body being close to hers. She shook off the thought and tried to focus. "You getting all of this, Clary?" He asked. She nodded, lying.

"I think you're just going to have to show me." She said, not intending for it to sound flirtatious but judging by his grin, he had other ideas.

For the next hour, Clary and Jace practiced basic moves. The adrenaline surprised Clary and she was actually way better at fighting than she ever imagined. She spent her whole life feeling like a clumsy artist, but this was unlocking something new in her, something exciting, and she knew she wanted to continue to learn more. She thought about her reason for coming here. That dreadful notice she received from Valentine the night before, and a flash of anger ran through her body. Jace, on the other hand, was nearly dumbfounded when this fiery red head landed a punch right in his jaw, causing him to signal a time out as he shook off the sting of pain.

"Whoa there, Fray, I'm not the enemy!" He joked, his face forming a red mark the shape of Clary's fist.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" She put her hands up in surrender before reaching for his bruised jaw. "I'll get you some ice, or cold water!" She frantically looked around the room for supplies, but she didn't know where anything was. He pulled at her wrist gently and pulled her closer to him so their faces were just inches apart. She could feel his ragged breath on her forehead and it sent shivers down her spine.

"I'm fine, Clary, believe me...I've had much worse." He laughed, trying not to let his pride get the best of him. But for some reason, he found himself feeling oddly calm around her, like he didn't have to be this macho fighter around her and instead, could show a hint of weakness for once. He pulled his sleeveless shirt off over his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Clary quietly gasped at the sight of his bare chest and felt like her cheeks were on fire. Jace noticed and he smiled. "I know, it's a lot to take in." He teased, nudging Clary before sitting down on the floor.

"Well, at least let me buy you a smoothie." She said, trying to ease her embarrassment.

"Sounds like a date." Jace joked and looked up at Clary. She knelt down on the floor beside him. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she noticed one of the tattoos on his abdomen.

"Oh my God...this...tattoo...how do you..."? Clary stammered anxiously. She pointed at the familiar outline. Jace looked to where she was pointing and raised a curious eyebrow.

"Hmm?" He had no idea what she was so animated about. Although he still had no idea why this girl could see his marks in the first place.

"This one! I have the same one right here!" She pointed at her neck but it was still covered with makeup. "My pyscho dad! He put that on me when I was six...and my mom totally flipped...and then the police...and..." She rambled. A whirlwind of thoughts and words were coming out of her mouth leaving Jace completely confused.

"I...uh...I don't see anything?" He said. He patted her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. She got up, grabbed a workout towel from her backpack and began scrubbing at her neck. As she rubbed the spot on her neck, the outline began to appear. An exact match to the mark on Jace's abdomen. And his jaw dropped. "Wait...how do I not know who you are?" He asked seriously. He stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him. He traced the outline on her neck with his fingers.

"What? Jace, you know who I am, I'm Clary...we met yesterday?" Clary said. Jace shook his head.

"No, I mean how did I not already know you? You're nephilim." Jace explained.

"Uh, no. I'm Clary...Clary Fray? Art student, dork, graphic novel writer, Fray." Clary said, totally clueless.

"That mark...it's an iratze. You wouldn't have it if you weren't nephilim...look I'll show you." Jace said. He pulled a shiny metal object from his back pocket which Clary initially thought was a knife, but then saw it was just a shiny stick. It illuminated in his hand. A flashlight stick, she thought. He brought the object over the mark on his abdomen and the 'tattoo' began to glow, as if his skin was burning.

"What the...hell?" Clary remarked as she took a few steps back. Clearly he was some sort of maniac, she thought. He gently grabbed her wrist and brought her hand up to his face where the bruise had been. It was now fading right before her eyes and in just seconds, it was totally gone. Clary smiled in amazement but then was suddenly struck with fear. What was going on? Was this guy some sort of evil creature? Did evil creatures exist? Why did she have the same mark on her neck? She knew Valentine was evil, maybe this guy was in some sort of gang with Valentine. She slowly began to walk backwards toward the front door.

"I uhhh...I need to go. Thanks for the...lesson! It was great, really great!" She reached the front door, noticing her backpack still on the ground on the other side of the room. She knew she needed its contents but it was too late. She had to get out of there.

"Clary, wait!" Jace yelled out as he ran to the door, but it was too late. She darted out in the blink of an eye and drove away.


	3. Chapter 3

Jace's POV

"Damnit." Jace muttered as he saw Clary's car peel out of the parking lot. He definitely didn't intend to scare her off, but how could she not even know that she was a shadowhunter? At least...he assumed she was one based on the rune on her neck. He knew he couldn't just let her run off like that without at least having the chance to explain everything to her. He let out an exasperated breath as he thought about what his next steps should be. He wasn't sure why he felt so compelled to protect Clary even more now. She was obviously afraid of something.

An unfamiliar jingle began to play when Jace turned to see Clary's belongings still sitting on the floor where she had left them earlier. Apparently she had left her cell phone behind and he was hopeful that it would be Clary. He hesitantly reached into her backpack to pull out her cellphone. An image of a nerdy guy in glasses appeared on the screen. Jace answered the phone.

"Hello?" Jace asked the caller.

"You're...not Clary." The caller replied, sounding a little concerned.

"And the award for captain obvious goes to..." Jace mocked as he looked at the caller ID. "Simon Lewis!" Jace continued.

"I...who is this? Where is Clary?" Simon asked, a little more nervous now.

"So you don't know where she is either?" Jace asked, sounding impatient.

"N..no. That's kind of the whole point of the phone call..." Simon said but Jace hung up the phone without revealing who he was. He put the phone in the backpack. It rang again, but this time he didn't answer. Instead, he drew a tracking rune on the backpack so he could find Clary's location and hopefully, get a second chance to talk to her. He slung the bag over his shoulder and started walking down the street in the direction she had gone.

Clary's POV

Clary pulled into her favorite coffee shop, Java Jones. After the morning she was having, she definitely needed caffeine. After she paid and retrieved her order, she sat down at a corner table and thought about what had happened at the martial arts studio. She thought about how free and in control she felt when she was practicing her fighting moves. She thought about the matching mysterious marks that her and Jace shared. She shivered when she thought about the mark glowing on Jace's body. Of course, every guy she came into contact had to be some kind of freak. She laughed a little at the thought of her crazy luck. She was about half way through her coffee when she noticed Jace walking by the coffee shop window, carrying her backpack. She quickly ducked down in her seat and attempted to hide behind the menu that was standing upright in the center of the table. She muttered under breath when Jace opened the coffee shop door, carrying her girly backpack over his shoulder. It was clear that he was so confident in his masculinity that he would carry such a thing without an ounce of embarrassment. She ducked down lower hoping that she wouldn't be seen. She wondered how he was able to find her anyway and decided that she probably had 20 Java Jones receipts crammed in the front pocket of her backpack. It wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"I think you forgot something." Jace teased. Clary slammed her head on the bottom of the table in surprise when she heard his voice. She raised herself back into her chair.

"Oh great, now I have a stalker on my hands." Clary rolled her eyes and angrily grabbed the backpack out of his hands, throwing it onto the empty chair across from her so he couldn't sit down. She rubbed the now achy spot where she had bumped her head.

"You know, I can help you with that." He pointed at the mark on her neck which was still visible. She had forgotten about it and quickly covered it with her hand. "Look, Clary, can we please just talk?" Jace pleaded. He was surprised at how pathetically desperate he sounded. She finally conceded and moved her backpack to the floor, freeing up the space on the chair for him to sit down.

"Fine, but you have to tell me everything...starting with what the _heck _you did back there?" Clary questioned. Jace sat down and leaned toward her. He wanted to keep the conversation quiet.

"Okay...but this isn't really the best place to be having this conversation..." He whispered.

"Well this is the best I can do, Jace. I barely even _know _you." Clary said. Jace felt a little hurt by that statement even though they did honestly just meet.

"Fair enough, but have I given you any reason to doubt me so far?" Jace asked.

"I've seen enough true crime TV shows to know that even the most handsome person is capable of just about anything..." Clary quipped. Jace furrowed his brow.

"So, you think I'm handsome?" Jace grinned.

"Not the point." Clary said flatly. "Go on, speak!" Clary demanded. Jace laughed. The front door of the coffee shop jingled as a frantic Simon Lewis, Clary's best friend, ran through it.

"Clary? Oh thank God you're okay!" He ran over to Clary and gave her a hug. "I tried calling you and some guy answered and you haven't told me about any guy so I didn't know what was going on and...who is this?" Simon stopped when he saw Jace sitting there, fidding with the table decor.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was able to stop talking." Jace mocked as he glanced up at Simon and then winked at Clary. Clary balled up her napkin and threw it in Jace's face.

"This is Jace." Clary said. "And Jace, this is Simon, my best friend." She continued.

"I believe we spoke this morning." Jace said, his tone light.

"Yeaaah...um, Clary? Why is some guy, I mean Jace, answering your phone on Saturday morning and why is this the first time I'm hearing about this secret boyfriend of yours?" Simon asked. Clary felt her cheeks begin to burn and Jace smiled at her.

"Maybe she didn't want to hurt your feelings. She's sweet like that." Jace teased.

"He's not my...secret boyfriend..." Clary argued. "He's just...my...he teaches women's self defense in town." Clary continued.

"And does he always take his students out for coffee?" Simon accused.

"Your friend sure asks a lot of questions about your love life." Jace commented. Clary glared angrily at Jace.

"Simon, he was just bringing me my backpack, I forgot it this morning." Clary defended.

"It's fine, it's fine. Sorry to...interrupt. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. But now that I know you are, I should get going. The band has to set up for a gig tonight anyway...so I'll catch up with you later, Fray." Simon waved and left the coffee shop.

"Why do you have to be like that?" Clary asked.

"Be like what?" Jace questioned. "Charming?" He asked.

"Just shut up." Clary smiled and took a sip of her coffee. She was started to feel a little better now after their somewhat childish banter, Jace seemed pretty harmless. And she had to admit, she was enjoying the fact that a guy like him actually wanted to spend time with her. Her relief was short lived though when she caught sight of what was happening outside of the coffee shop window.

"Oh my God!" Clary shot up out of her seat to get a closer look. Next to her car, she saw Simon being pinned up against Clary's car by none other than Valentine.

"Jace, please. You have to help him! That's my psycho dad and he's trying to get to me...please, Jace." Clary pleaded and that's all it took. He got up, grabbed her hand, and pulled her outside with him.

"What do you want from me...Mr. Morgenstern? Is this about the dollar I never paid you back for that ice cream cone? I'm sure I have a dollar in my wallet if you would just let me go..." Simon rambled helplessly as he tended to do in stressful situations.

"Clarissa! How wonderful to see you." Valentine said creepily and he tossed Simon aside to focus on his daughter. "You know, it's not becoming for a young woman to be surrounded by so many men all of the time. Maybe if you spent some more time with your father you would see that you can be more than just a piece of arm candy." He continued. Jace's lip twitched angrily as he stepped forward to confront him.

"Maybe she doesn't _want _to spend any time with you, huh? Maybe you should just leave her alone." Jace said, his face just inches away from Valentine's. Valentine moved his head away to look at his daughter again.

"This one must really have a thing for you." Valentine commented and Clary looked down at the ground before harnessing what little self confidence she had to stare back at her birth father.

"He's right. I don't want to have anything to do with you. So just leave me alone!" Clary yelled, surprising herself and Simon. Jace, on the other hand, grinned.

"Well, I don't really care what these boy toys of yours have to say. It's a good thing I won't have to hear them much longer." Valentine smiled as he pulled a seraph blade out of seemingly nowhere. Clary gasped and took a step back, Simon following her lead and stepping even further back.

"Jace! Watch out!" Clary yelled but before she could even warn him, Jace pulled a similar blade from his back pocket. When he gripped it, the blade glowed and he swiftly slashed Valentine across the wrist, causing Valentine's blade to fall to the ground.

"Simon, get out of here!" Clary yelled and Simon nodded. Before turning to run, Simon looked back at Jace. "Um, thanks?" Simon said nervously before disappearing around the block.

Valentine groaned in pain as he used his other hand to reach for his seraph blade, but Jace stepped on it, preventing him from lifting it off the ground.

"I don't think so." Jace mocked as he kicked Valentine in the chest, knocking him down to the ground.

"Jace!" Clary pleaded. She didn't know what she even wanted. On one hand, she wanted Valentine to be gone for good, but did she really want to see Jace kill her father? And was Jace even a killer? She didn't have time to finish her thoughts when she saw Simon peer around the corner again, this time with two police officers. Simon pointed in their direction and the police officers began running in their direction.

"Oh great, mundie cops." Jace groaned.

"Hold it right there!" One of the officers yelled while running, his weapon drawn in front of him.

"Jace! You have to get out of here!" Clary warned him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction away from the police.

"_We _have to get out of here." Jace corrected her. Jace put his seraph blade away and pulled out his stele. "Do you trust me?" He asked, still holding onto her hand. Clary reluctantly nodded. He used the stele to activate his glamour rune. He held her arm in his hand, asking for permission with his eyes. She nodded and he quickly drew the same rune on the underside of her forearm. She felt a slight burning tingle which quickly faded, and everything around them seemed the same as it was just a few seconds before.

"Come on, Jace, we _really _need to go!" Clary urged and Jace smiled, standing stationary on the sidewalk as the police ran in their direction.

"Just watch." Jace smiled. That's when the police stopped in their tracks just a few feet away from where they were standing.

"Where the hell did they go?" The officer questioned, scratching his head. He turned to walk back to the slain victim and to his surprise, there was no one there.

"Are we...invisible?" Clary whispered.

"It's called a glamour." Jace corrected. "Come on, let me take you somewhere so I can tell you everything." He said. Clary nodded and they began to make their way to the New York Institute.


End file.
